Xiao long bao (soup dumplings), those amazing constructions of delicate dumpling wrappers, encasing hot,     1     (taste) soup and sweet, fresh meat, are far and away my favorite Chinese street food. The dumplings arrive steaming and dangerously hot. To eat one, you have to decide whether     2     (bite) a small hole in it first, releasing the stream and risking a spill (溢出),     3     to put the whole dumpling in your mouth, letting the hot soup explode on your tongue. Shanghai may be the     4     (recognize) home of the soup dumplings but food historians will actually point you to the neighboring canal town of Nanxiang as Xiao long Bao’s birthplace. There you will find them prepared differently — more dumpling and less soup, and the wrappers are pressed     5     hand rather than rolled. Nanxiang aside, the best Xiao long bao have a fine skin, allowing them     6     (lift) out of the steamer basket without tearing or spilling any of     7     (they) contents. The meat should be fresh with     8     touch of sweetness and the soup hot, clear and delicious.

No matter where I buy them, one steamer is     9     (rare) enough, yet two seems greedy, so I am always left     10     (want) more next time.

Whenever you have to write a paper, a letter, or any other document for work or school, you probably head toward the computer. Now, most people reach for     1     (keyboard) faster than they pick up pens. In a Scottish primary school, however, Mr. Norman Lewis is taking a different approach. He feels that neat handwriting     2     (be) still an important skill, so he has his students write not only by hand but also     3     old fashioned fountain pens.

Fountain pens     4     (use) in schools long ago and have been regaining popularity lately because they are refillable. Today, a writer     5     (simple) throws an empty pen away and gets     6     new one.

So far, Mr. Lewis is pleased with the results of his experiment. He reports that his students are taking more care with their work, and their self-confidence has improved as well. He is happy with the     7     (improve) he sees in his students’ writing     8     in his own writing. He knows that computers are here     9     (stay) and that they will not disappear. However, he believes that the practice with fountain pens helps students to focus, to write faster, and they can feel proud of     10     (they).

Liu Ruying,     1     grandfather is a huge fan of Peking Opera, has been interested in Peking Opera for much of her young life. Her grandfather is a great influence     2     her. At the age of 8, she     3    (begin) to practice the classic art. It wasn’t easy for a little girl     4    (experience) the difficult training, as performances combine martial arts, dancing and acrobatics(杂技).

“Sometimes I was tired,“ she said. ”I had to balance my studies and other     5    (course) I was interested in, such as dance. But the great charm(魅力) of Peking Opera made me always practice it.”

When Liu got the news that her region would have a cultural exchange with other countries, she had the idea of     6    (introduce) Peking Opera to the world in English. With     7     help of her mother, she took part in the activity after several months of practice.

“I     8    (extreme) love traditional Chinese culture,” she said. “Peking Opera has a long history of about 200 years and     9    (consider) a treasure of our nation. We should let     10    (we) make great efforts to carry forward our culture and protect the cultural diversity of the world.”

In China, the use and cultivation (种植) of green tea goes back thousands of years. While there is no precise way to know     1    (exact) when green tea was first cultivated, the following is     2    we know from historical records.

Legend assigns the discovery of tea to mythological emperor Shennong, who is said     3    (discover) tea in the 28th century BC. Shennong was sitting under a tea tree boiling a pot of water to drink. Some     4    (leaf) fell from the tree into the boiling water, creating the first ever pot of tea. During the Han Dynasty, written records referred     5    the cultivation of green tea. However, this wasn`t green tea for drinking     6    for medical purposes. The Tang Dynasty     7    (consider) by most to be the golden age of Chinese arts and culture. It was during this time that green tea became a popular drink and an important part of     8    (tradition) Chinese culture.

    9    first written account of tea culture, Cha jing or The Classic of Tea, was published by Lu Yu. This short but comprehensive work,     10    (cover) ten chapters, discusses everything from the mythological of tea, history, cultivation, preparation to tea culture.

The food commonly associated with Qingming Festival is Qingtuan, a glutinous rice dumpling dyed green with mug-wort juice or wormwood grass. The tradition of serving Qingtuan at Qingming Festival is believed    1    (date) back to the Zhou Dynasty more than two thousand years ago,    2    the food was a common ritual in memory of the ancestors.

Up till now, the practice    3    (stand) the test of time. Time-honoured brands of Qingtuan have struggled to show off     4    (they) inventiveness. In recent years, Chinese consumers have gone wild for time-honoured brands of Qingtuan. Before Qingming Festival, customers stand in lines stretching down city blocks,     5    (wait) to get a taste of these variations before they sell out.     6     their smallest similarity to the classic variety, many people still believe that the    7    (innovate) helps to keep the ancient food tradition alive by getting younger people interested in them. Time-honored brands need to stay fresh by evolution and novelty. Otherwise, they’ll get left behind by more     8     (creation) brands.

However, many Chinese people    9    (simple) aren’t interested in the debate about     10     these novel products are appealing or objectionable. Many are quietly used to eating Qingtuan the way they’ve been served for hundreds, or thousands of years.

Over the past 40 years, Du Dejian has received numerous visitors at the library     1     he established in his home in Zhangfang village of Yongji, Shanxi province.

Du, a rural teacher,     2     (decide) to build a library in the village when he noticed     3    range of difficulties his neighbors encountered as a result of limited knowledge during the planting season around 1980.

With support from his family, Du bought books, newspapers and magazines, mainly     4     agriculture. There weren't as many visitors as     5     (expect) at the beginning. At that time, residents thought     6     (they) to be experienced in farming, so they wouldn't read books.

To attract them, he began to send newspapers to the residents' homes and offer them an     7    (explain) about the great power of technology. Gradually, more people became loyal readers in Du's library. Besides, more than 700 agricultural, technology training courses     8     (present) over the past decades since the library opened.

In recent years, with the development the Internet, the library has seen fewer readers. Du began to try new methods     9     (spread) knowledge. He set up a WeChat group and sends agricultural information to the residents, helping them farm more     10     (scientific).

When was the last time you blew too high     1     a swing and lost your stomach, or burst out laughing so hard that you start crying?

A lot of us may be still recovering from antisocial habits     2     (form) in the tough time. And so far, some events out of our control     3     (have) a bad effect on our health. Last fall, 76% of adults surveyed by the American Psychological Association said stress from politics. race relations and violence had affected their health. They reported     4     (experience) headaches, depression, nervousness and exhaustion.

But     5     (solution) may be hiding in plain sight. Two recent books argue that making room for more fun in your life could counteract (抵消) both the stress and the tendency       6     (escape) it by zoning out online.

In a book published in January, psychologist Mike trucker makes the case that pursuit of fun experiences may be even more valuable than seeking the sometimes abstract goal of happiness. In Rucker’s opinion, happiness is     7     state of mind. But fun is something we can do for     8     (we). It doesn’t require education, money or power. All it requires is intentionality. We     9     (actual) ignore the importance of fun. We are so casual and careless about     10     we use things around us to make us fun, but it is important for our happiness and health.

“Hello”,     1     always makes a point about the importance of how we greet (问候) others, is a very common word in our daily life. The word we choose sets the     2     (begin) for the whole communication, and in turn, shapes the future of     3     (we) relationship with others. At times we may use something like a formal “good day” in certain situations, and a more informal “hey” or “hi” in others. Knowing how     4     (say) hello in different languages is always the first step when it     5     (come) to becoming more communicative with the rest of the world. “Hello” is     6     (important) than any other word for you to remember when you’re learning a new language. Now let’s learn some different     7     (form) of “hello” in different languages around the world: in English— Hello; in Chinese— Nin ho; in French— Bonjour; in Spanish— Hola. Isn’t it     8     (interest) to get you ready for some situations? There are even more ways to say hello in every language. The way of greeting someone can change depending     9     the time of the day, or your relationship with the person you’re saying hello to. Beyond the words, people also use a mixture of body language and physical (身体的) touch to greet each other, from handshakes to hugs or cheek kisses. Learning to greet someone is all about making a connection, so have     10     try and do your best.

Tea is a healthy drink. Drinking tea in China could be considered as an art and to help people achieve a sense of calm and renewed energy. It is also     1     way to enjoy life better.

Stories     2     are about the discovery of tea are different depending on the people who you ask, but we know that Chinese people have been drinking tea since Shennong, 5,000 years ago. Usually, tea     3     (believe) to be medicinal, and is so central to     4     (day) life that an old Chinese saying includes tea in a list of seven important contents to be gathered each morning, along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy and vinegar.

Tea serves three primary     5     (purpose) traditionally in Chinese society: to show status, to bring people together and to improve wellness.

Drinking tea together is a sign of respect. In ancient times, “tribute tea”(贡茶) was     6     (special) kept for and presented to the Emperor. Tea still has a place in the life of the average people. It is common     7     (give) guests a cup of tea to welcome them into the home. But tea is more than a key of social customs. It is meant to act     8     a medium through which people can become much     9     (close) to nature. Drinking tea out in nature will create a spiritual connection to the environment and make people feel     10     (relax).

Ben is a seventeen-year-old boy, who is a member of his school basketball team. He was so crazy about basketball that he got mad when they lost their last match. They played well, but the point guard didn’t play his role well. He felt     1     (disappoint) and complained about it to his friend. He was just letting off steam but his friend told everyone about what he said. He was     2     a total mess. He was     3     (real) angry with his friend and didn’t know what to do. He was so embarrassed and ashamed that he couldn’t concentrate on anything. So he wrote to Agony Aunt for help.

After     4     (read) Ben’s letter, Agony Aunt replied. She quoted     5     old American saying “Loose lips sink ships.” Since then, Ben     6     (know) the truth that if you speak too much about something, especially to people     7     you don’t know so well, it will cause all kinds of trouble. It is understandable that Ben let off steam when getting angry, but he should think before speaking.

Here are Agony Aunt’s     8     (suggestion). Firstly, he should apologise to his teammate. They work together, and that     9     (mean) they need to communicate with each other clearly and resolve conflicts by     10     (they). Then he should talk to his friend. Lastly, when he is angry, he shouldn’t say too much.